When Should a Presidential Nominee Be Deemed ‘Racist?’

The president has once again sent up white smoke, this time for the position of Secretary of Labor. His choice is Thomas Perez. Mr. Perez is a hardened leftist, a huge proponent of providing illegal alien amnesty and is the son of Dominican immigrants as well as a Harvard-educated elitist. The president cites these last two points as major qualifications for the job. Of course, none of these particulars eliminate Mr. Perez from holding a cabinet level office, certainly not in this administration. What should disqualify Mr. Perez from consideration, however, are a few, nagging facts.

Mr. Perez has been given the nod for Labor Secretary fresh from holding the position of assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Mr. Perez, as it turns out, was instrumental in blocking the prosecution of several New Black Panther Party members, on charges of voter intimidation in the 2008 election, while holding that post. Moreover, a new report, from the Justice Department affirms that Mr. Perez gave incomplete testimony and withheld certain information in that matter. The inspector general’s report stated that despite Perez’s testimony to the contrary, top political appointees were, in fact, directly involved in the decision-making.

Further, the IG held that Attorney General Eric Holder “was briefed and generally indicated his approval” of a decision to dismiss some of the defendants. The report went on to declare, “…we believe that Perez should have sought more details … about the nature and extent of the participation of political employees in the NBPP decision in advance of his testimony before the commission” and added that “deep ideological polarization in the Justice Department’s voting rights section … fueled disputes that in some instances harmed the office’s proper functioning.” The inspector general concluded that “on some occasions the disputes involved harassment of employees and managers.” Yet the IG then went on record to say that “its review did not substantiate claims of political or racial bias in decision-making.” Oh, really?

Senator David Vitter (LA) has added to the objections Mr. Perez’s nomination presents. It seems that Mr. Perez, in his capacity with the attorney general’s office, filed suit against Louisiana for having had the cheek to try to identify each voter on the state’s roles. Senator Vitter sent a letter about Perez’s outrageous interference to the State Department. In 2011. The letter has yet to be answered.

In response, Senator Pat Leahy (VT) offered a statement of stunning absurdity: “…a fierce defender of workers’ rights and civil rights, Tom is uniquely suited to serve in this important post at a critical time when Congress will be considering issues like immigration reform, reducing unemployment, and continuing our economic recovery.” He says so; it must be true. Senator Leahy’s “triple think” provides evidence that he is well beyond his” brain-cell by” date.

The Lyin’ King is once again urging a speedy approval process for anointing Mr. Perez. The Democrat Senate, always in lockstep, agrees. As usual, any action or appointment that conforms to our Dear Leader’s agenda is as gospel. If the administration says the appointment isn’t racist, it must be so. Regardless of facts; regardless of whether or not the proposed appointment will serve all or merely some of the people.

Image: Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Thomas Perez after being nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as the United States Secretary of Labor; source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/ sites/default/files/imagecache/embedded_img_full/image/image_file/p031813ps-0211.jpg?itok=QGY1OPjv; author: Pete Souza – Chief Official White House photographer; public domain

About the author, Marilyn Assenheim: Marilyn Assenheim was born and raised in New York City. She spent a career in healthcare management although she probably should have been a casting director. Or a cowboy. A serious devotee of history and politics, Marilyn currently lives in the NYC metropolitan area. View all articles by Marilyn Assenheim

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